Spaces in Between
by HerNamewasAlice
Summary: "I'm broken but I think we can be fixed together." Poe falls in love with his neighbor who is a single mother. (Rey/Poe)


_I travelled fifteen hundred miles to see you_  
 _Begged you to want me, but you didn't want to_

 _But piece by piece, he collected me up_  
 _Off the ground, where you abandoned things_

 _\- Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson_

* * *

He loves her, that beautiful girl across the hall.

When people look at him, they just see the cold metal. They don't see the man. They don't see the soul. But when she looks at him, she sees him. She doesn't see the wheelchair, she just sees him. She sees him as he is.

She sees him, Poe.

She doesn't see Poe Dameron, the great pilot who became paralyzed from an accident.

She just sees him, Poe. A man who always wasn't happy. A man who needed help even though he pushed everyone away.

He loves her for that as much as he loved seeing her lips curl and eyes brighten when she smiled. He loves her, the girl next door. Or actually across from him. He loves her even though she wasn't all put together.

She was broken, just like him.

And he loves her for that.

Because the good people are.

"I want to be with you," he tells her before she could go inside her apartment.

She tilted her head down to him - to stare at him.

Whenever people looked at him, he felt small but when she looked at him, he felt human.

She shook her head stiffly.

He frowned. "Rey -

She shook her head again but this time it was frantic. This time her eyes were glassy and she was heaving. "Poe, you _don't_ want to be with me," she emphasized every word.

"I do," he said calmly, wheeling himself closer to her.

Rey shook her head again.

He can feel it, her pain. When she frowned, she looked so small. So fragile.

She exhaled and pursed her lips. "Poe, I'm nineteen with a baby." She paused to look at her baby. Her baby girl was fast asleep. Rey sighed and gripped onto the stroller. "You don't want to be with me."

"Those aren't good excuses to not be with you."

She shook her head. "You don't want to be with someone that has a child -

"I love Avery. I want to be a part of her life too," he said without having to think about it. He loves that little wide eyed girl. She looked just like her mother except she smiled more. Rey didn't smile as much but it wasn't like Poe could blame her. She went through so much heartbreak and pain.

"You're just saying that."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because everyone does."

"I'm not everyone," he said gently, giving her daughter a soft smile. And then at her.

Rey winced.

"You said you liked me," he reminded her, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I did," she exhaled. Pausing. "I did - it's just - I -I didn't expect you to like me back."

He chuckled softly. "You're amazing," he emphasized every word, every syllable. He meant it. Rey was amazing. She's working two jobs while raising her daughter all on her own. "You're sweet, kind, selfless. Even when you're sad, you manage to keep a smile for her." No matter how many times Avery's father Ben comes by and emptily promises to be there, she kept remained hopeful despite the evident pattern. No matter how many times her hopes are up, she remained strong. No matter how many times Ben Solo left, she loved her daughter unconditionally. "You're amazing Rey - I mean it."

"I'm not," she winced again as her eyes started to burn. "I'm not."

Poe shook his head. "Don't say that."

"I'm not put together. I barely know how to take care of my little girl. I'm barely living by - stop. Stop looking at me like that -

"Like what?"

"You - you're looking at me as if I'm the only person in the world. Poe, please. I'm sparing you please. You don't want to be with me - I'm broken," tears were running down her face.

"I'm broken too," he squeezed her hand. His eyes locked on to the wheelchair. "But you made me feel whole again." His eyes flickered to her. To those beautiful hazel eyes. She looked so small right now. So vulnerable. Poe just want to bring the light back in her, before Ben came and took it away again. "I think we can be fixed together."

* * *

 _Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me_  
 _Six years old and you know_  
 _He never walks away_  
 _He never asks for money_  
 _He takes care of me_  
 _He loves me_  
 _Piece by piece, he restored my faith_  
 _That a man can be kind and the Father could, stay_


End file.
